Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Vespertine, by Saundra Mitchell

I really liked this book a lot. I love reading about the late 1800s, and this book reminded me of The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, with a supernatural twist. I love reading about the calling cards, the dances where the ladies try to get their dance cards filled, the requirement for young ladies to be escorted everywhere, the secret romances, and the quest to find a proper match!

In this book Amelia, the main character, is sent to Baltimore to visit her cousin, Zora, for the summer so that she can be introduced to society. Amelia discovers she can sometimes see glimpses of the future. She begins to tell people their futures. As you are reading this, you keep thinking that this can't possibly turn out well, and it doesn't. Amelia also falls head over heels in love with Nathanial, a painter, who is totally unacceptable (too low class) as a husband. So there's more potential for disaster.

Nathanial seems to appear suddenly, without warning, whenever Amelia needs him most. That's all I'm going to say about Nathanial.

The supernatural elements seem believable, or even if they aren't believable, you WANT to believe it. Even though you suspect disaster (the first chapter foretells of it), the ending is still surprising and fulfilling. If you like romantic, historical fiction at all, I would recommend this. Mostly for girls, of course.

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt allowing me to read this on my Kindle and write this review.

2 comments:

First of all, this cover is BEAUTIFUL!I've been seeing a lot of authors reading this book, and I can't wait until I get my hands on my own copy! You wrote a good review that made me want to read it even more!

Gadget

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About Me

I'm a high school librarian. I live in a small, fairly rural town with my husband, and a dog who is very spoiled. I love to read. I read mostly YA, my favorite is historical fiction, but I mix in the occasional adult novel and even some non-fiction. I love to write about what I've read and chat with others about what they've read, so blogging is perfect! I've just moved into a brand new house so I'm spending a lot of time decorating. My other hobbies are cooking and sewing.

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Some of the books I review are Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) which are provided by a publisher or author to get my honest opinion of the book. The books are free, I get to keep them, and that's the only compensation I get for the review. Here's the FTC Guidelines.